Kage, the Shadow Prince
by Rhowan
Summary: When Asuna wakes up from Sword Art Online, the first thing she wants to know is why Kirito hasn't woken up also. Unfortunately, Kirito is trapped in the hands of Sugou Nobuyuki, who has recently perfected his control over the human mind. And Sugou won't be using his power for anything good; that, Kirito knows. Inspired by Fundindar's "Keku, the Prince of Chaos". UNDERGOING REWRITE.
1. Chapter 1

**So I personally loved reading Fundindar's _Keku, the Prince of Chaos_ , and was really upset to find that it has been seemingly abandoned. Solution: write my own take on it! Surprise surprise, that's what your about to read right now. Therefore, Fundindar takes all the credit for inspiring this fanfiction. On the other hand, this story is completely separate from Fundidar's, and I am in no way copying their work. This is merely something I decided to right after reading their story. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online. I'm not making any money with this fanfiction. But if anybody knows how to, message me! (Kidding)**

 **-Elysia Grace**

•••••

Suguha Kirigaya watched the slow rise and fall of her brother's chest, the only thing that was convincing her he was still alive. She held his limp hand to her body, praying for his eyes to fly open, just like they should have done no more than two days ago.

"Please... Please Kazuto... Please wake up..."

Of the ten thousand people, her brother included, that entered the death game Sword Art Online, only 6,147 survived. Of those players, all but 300 had woken up only two days ago. Kazuto was still asleep.

Why? Why was he not awake? Why did it have to be _him_ , of all people? Hadn't he been through enough hell? Hadn't _she_ been through enough hell? Suguha rested her forehead on the top of Kirito's hand.

"Please..."

•••••

 _1 week later_

"Okay, now can you lift your right leg for me?" Asuna lifted her right leg.

"That's great sweetie, now can you lift your left?" Asuna lifted her left.

"Wonderful, now can you stand?" Slowly and painfully, Asuna stood.

"Your doing great. Now we're gonna try to take a step, okay?" Asuna nodded her head.

Focusing solely on her feet and legs, Asuna took her first step forward in two years. With the help of her physical therapist, admittedly.

Asuna managed to take one more step after that before her weak legs gave out and she fell into her therapists' arms.

"Well, it seems like you've made excellent progress, Asuna. Most of the... survivors have barely managed to stand so far, so you are ahead of the game!" Asuna smiled weakly.

"May I... Be released, now?" The woman frowned slightly in thought.

"I suppose so. But be very careful, and don't attempt to walk without your crutches again quite yet." Asuna nodded. It's not like she had a choice.

Wishing her therapist farewell, Asuna limped out of the hospital, and after spotting where her mom was waiting for her in her (very nice and expensive) car, she went over. Very, very slowly. _Oh, crutches are such a pain._

Getting into the car, Asuna let her mind wander. It had been two weeks since had she escaped the clutches of Sword Art Online. And it had been hard.

Asuna hadn't lived in the real world in two years. Being thrown back in so suddenly, it was completely overwhelming. Lucky for her, though, she had found some of her friends from SOA through therapy, and together they were all able to adjust to being out of the death game.

Well, she said her friends, but some of them were Kirito's too. Like Silica, for example. Apparently Silica had seen Kirito and her together before, and had made a point to come up to Asuna when she saw her. Along with Silica, Asuna had also found Lizbeth, Klien, and Agil. So really, she had found all of her friends.

That is, except for Kirito.

Try as she might, Asuna's husband had yet to be found by any of them. And it was eating Asuna up inside. _What if something had happened to him? What if he didn't escape the game alive?_

Soon, though, Asuna would finally be getting her answers.

Recently after Asuna had been released from the game, she had confided in her father. After helping to squash her worries, he had promised to do everything in his power to find out where Kazuto Kirigaya was hidden.

And so Asuna pushed through her therapy, getting stronger each day, and hoping every minute that she would get a call from her father telling her exactly where to go.

And when he did she would finally- _finally-_ get to meet her true love in real life.

•••••

 _2 weeks later_

To: Lizbeth, Silica, Agil, Klien

From: Asuna

Keiōgijukudai Hospital, Room 632.

 _Quickly._

•••••

The car door slammed shut with a defining slam as Asuna did her very best to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Why she was given the address of a hospital and not a house, she wasn't sure, and didn't care to dwell on it. What mattered was Kirito was _here,_ mere steps away.

Giving a quick scan around, it seemed that Asuna was the first of her's and Kirito's group of friends to arrive. _I can't say I'm upset about that,_ she thought selfishly. Although she felt guilty about it, Asuna was glad that she would get to be the first one to see Kirito in real life.

Pushing through the doors, Asuna limped on her still-weak legs to the front desk. At the least, though, she didn't have to use her crutches anymore.

"Hello-"

"Room 632." Asuna said, interrupting the receptionist's greeting. Then, as an afterthought, added "Please, m'am."

The receptionists, a pretty brunette likely in her mid-twenties, give her a thin smile before directing her to the direction she should take.

Asuna didn't waste a spare moment. Every moment she spent walking through those hallways felt like another moment wasted that Kirito and her could have been spending together.

Absently, Asuna was reminded of the very beginning of her time in SAO. Back when she thought that every moment she spent in the game was another moment wasted in the real world. But Kirito taught her differently. He taught her to live her life to the fullest, even if it wasn't a real one. She would always be thankful for that.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Asuna stood in front of a plain white door. To the right of the door was a panel, with the number '632' written on it in bold, stiff lettering. Without pausing to hesitate, Asuna pushed the button to allow herself into the room.

"Kirito? Are you th-"

Someone was crying. No, not just someone, a girl. A girl with short-cut black hair that was grasping onto the thin hand of a boy. The boy had a helmet on, what Asuna assumed was some sort of medical technology. There were letters on the front, but they were so worn Asuna couldn't make out what they said.

"Oh, oh my, I'm so sorry. The receptionist must have given me the wrong room number... I'll just be going then-"

But before Asuna could leave, the girl lifted her puffy face up to meet Asuna's gaze with red-rimmed eyes. She sniffed and did her best to compose herself.

"Oh, sorry. I understand. Who are you looking for? I might be able to help you find them." And then, almost to herself, she muttered: "I've been here enough, after all..."

Asuna chose not to comment on the last part. "Um, well, I was looking for a boy. He has black hair and gray eyes, and is about sixteen years old. His name is Kazuto Kirigaya, and he's an SAO victim. Do you know him?"

Immediately the girls whole demeanor changed from friendly to suspicious. She narrowed her now-dry eyes dangerously. "How do you know my brother?"

Asuna was taken aback. "B- brother?! But then, does that mean..." Asuna trailed off as her eyes went back to the boy on the bed. That helmet. That wasn't medical technology, it was NerveGear. And the face underneath it; it was slightly different, but she could tell that was-

"KIRITO!"

Asuna cried out her husbands name with a gasp and raced to his side, tears springing up in her eyes. This, this was Kirito? But, why wasn't he awake?! He should be awake by now! Everybody else was! Why was Kirito different?! Why-

"Hey!"

Asuna turned back to the girl. Right, she was still here.

"I don't know who you are, or how you know Onii-chan, but you can't just barge by me without explaining yourself, so I suggest you do that _right now._ "

Asuna sniffed and wiped a tear off of her cheek, backing away from her comatose lover.

"W- we were in S- SAO together..." She choked slightly. "We were married... And he's supposed to be awake... We're supposed to be together again... Right?" After a couple of second with no response from the girl Asuna seemed to realize she wasn't making any sense. She sighed and straightened her self up.

"I'm sorry, I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Asuna Yuuki, survivor of Sword Art Online. Me and Kir- Kazuto were friends in-game... More than friends... A- and I came here to find him..." She turned back to the girl, who was wearing a slight frown.

"I'm Suguha Kirigaya, and I'm Kazuto's sister, well, cousin. I was just here visiting. Until you showed up, that is."

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?"

Suguha's frown deepened. "I don't know. When I heard that the SAO survivors were waking up I was so excited- _finally_ I would have my b- brother back- but when I c- came here and f- found him still asleep..." She broke off.

"All I know is that Onii-chan, along with 299 other SAO players, haven't woken up yet. N- nobody knows why."

Asuna looked back at Kazuto, and was about to say something before a commotion at the door cut her off.

"K- Klien!" Asuna hated the way her voice broke.

Klien looked up from the doorway, meeting Asuna's gaze. "Hey, Asuna. What ya doing here? Where's Kirito?"

Biting her lip, Asuna gestured towards the boy on the bed. When Klien's eyes fell on Kirito he breathed in sharply.

"That's... Kirito? But why isn't he awake?"

"We don't know. All we do know is that Kirito and 299 other SAO players didn't wake up after Kirito cleared the game." Asuna answered. She felt her eyes start to water and become brimmed with tears.

Suguha had been glaring at Klien. "Don't tell me you know Onii-chan from SAO too?"

Klien nodded absently, oblivious to the fact that the question had come from a complete stranger that also happened to be in the room with them.

Suguha sighed. "Are there any more of you-"

"Asuna!"

"Klien!"

It was Lizbeth and Silica, followed closely by Agil. After scowling at the newest intruders, Suguha collapsed in one of the chairs in the hospital room defeatedly.

Asuna turned to meet the final three of her friends. "Liz! Silica! Agil! You finally made it!"

Liz shrugged. "Blame Agil, he's the one who picked us up and brought us here. Now where's Kirito?"

Asuna's tear-filled eyes finally overflowed. "Kirito- Kirito hasn't awoken yet..."

All three of them frowned. "What do you mean? How could he not have awoken yet?"

"Apparently after the game was cleared, 300 players didn't wake up. Kirito was one of them.

"So that means..." Liz trailed off as she finally turned her attention to the comatose figure laying on the bed.

The boy on the bed was pale to the point that he seemed almost translucent. His arms were thin and his cheeks were sunken in, and his eyes had dark bags under them. His hair was hard to see, but it was clearly black and longer than the average guy's. On his head was a helmet that, if you looked closely, had a label that said "NerveGear" on it.

But, despite the differences, this person was, without a doubt, Kirito. Their _hero._

Suguha took the group's stunned silence as an opportunity to jump in.

"And I'm Suguha. Ka-, er, Kirto's _sister._ "

Suddenly, everybody's attention was focused solely on Suguha. But before they could bombard her with questions, Silica piped up.

"I've heard of you. Kirito told me about you when he saved me in-game. He said I reminded him of you, and that's why he did it." Silica smiled brightly at Suguha, unintentionally easing some of the tension in the room.

"Me too." Klien eventually said. "He mentioned you the first day of SAO, write after we discovered the log out button was missing..." He trailed off.

Behind Klien, Agil muttered to himself. "It's strange to think of Kirito as anything but an only child... The way he had no regard for his own life, always trying to sacrifice himself for others, I guess it made me think that he didn't have much waiting for him back home. Obviously, I was wrong." Lizbeth nodded in agreement.

"I guess... We knew nothing about him, really... Or, at least, nothing about his real life..." Lizbeth turned to Suguha, her curiosity controlling her words. "How... How old is your brother?"

Suguha eyed Lizbeth warily before eventually replying with a stiff "Sixteen."

"Only sixteen..." Klien said to himself. "I had always thought he was older than that. He acted like it..."

"And," Agil said, "That means he was only fourteen when he first arrived."

Everyone looked at Kirito with some amount of both pity and amazement. How was it that a boy of only sixteen had been the one to save them all from the death game? How was it that a boy of that age had been selfless enough to be willing to give up his own life to save them all?

"And... What's his name. His real name, not Kirito." Lizbeth asked Suguha. But to her surprise, it was Asuna, not Suguha, that answered.

"Kazuto. Kazuto Kirigaya." The words rolled off her lips with sorrow.

"Kazuto. Kazuto Kazuto Kazuto." Klien tested how the unfamiliar name felt on his tongue with flourish.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Lizbeth said bluntly. "To think of him as a different name. In my mind, he'll always be Kirito, the famed Black Swordsmen. Kazuto feels like the fake name, not Kirito." There were murmurs of agreement.

Everyone stood in silence for some time after that, just watching the slow rise and fall of Kirito's chest.

"Kazuto Kirigaya." Asuna eventually said. "Kazuto Kirigaya, a sixteen year old with a mother, father, and sister. He is the boy- no, man- that was hidden under Kirito, the one who saved us all. We owe him our lives."

"Wait." Suguha's confusion had finally bubbled over. "'Saved us all'? We owe him our lives'? What the hell does that mean?"

"What I said." Asuna replied. "Kirito... He's the one who cleared the game. He's the one who freed us from that prison."

Suguha gaped. " _Kazuto?_ As in _my_ _brother,_ Kazuto? _He's_ the one who cleared the game?!"

Asuna nodded with a sad smile adorning her face. Suguha leaned back in her char with an expression of disbelief. "My brother... The hero of SAO... I can't believe it..."

Once again the entire group lapsed into silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"We need to do something." Asuna finally said, breaking the silence once again. "We need to find out why he's still not awake, and figure out how to bring him back into the real world again. All of us, together. You too, Suguha."

Once everyone voiced their agreement, any remaining tension in the room eased and casual conversations struck up. But behind the passive front, each one of them was harboring a deep determination to bring their undisputed leader back into the world he belonged in, once and for all.

•••••

In a world far away, a world made of pixels and lines of code, a figure dressed in black stirred. Then, slowly, it awakened.

"Where... Where am I?" The figure questioned. Looking around, all the person could see were the gold bars of a cage and a crystal blue sky. Anything else was too blurry to make out.

From behind the figure, a cool voice sounded. "Rise, Kage."

The figure, a young boy with pale skin and black hair, eyes, and attire, turned to look at the man behind him.

 _Kage...? As in... Shadow? Is... Is that my name?_ The boy wasn't sure. Everything was foggy, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember anything. Every time he thought he was close to grasping a memory, it slipped through his fingers like water. Idly, the boy wondered how long he had been asleep.

Finally the boy met the gaze of the man who had spoken. The man was tall, with long blonde hair and pointed ears. A crown was adorning the top of his head, and the gem in the center of it matched the green of his cloak. But, what surprised the boy the most, was the pair of wings that extended from the center of the man's back.

"Kage... You called me Kage. Is that my name?"

The man gave a cruel laugh. "Of course not. But it will be. I see your memory hasn't resurfaced yet, Black Swordsman."

 _'What does he mean by my name not being Kage? And that 'it will be'? And why did he call me Black Swordsman-?_

Kirito was abruptly cut off from his thoughts as a raging pain tore through his head.

 _Black Swordsman..._

 _Black Swordsman..._

 _Black Swordsman..._

 _Asuna._

 _Aincrad._

 _Sword Art Online._

Everything hit him like a truck. All of his memories, everything that happened to him in SAO came back to him in an instant. It was almost too much to bear.

 _But... Where am I now? After I defeating Kayaba, me and Asuna should have been logged out together... Why am I not back in the real world...?_

Kirito looked back at the elf-like man in front of him with a dangerous glint in his eye, a glint that starkly contrasted with the confusion that was present mere moments ago. "Start talking."

The man giggled. "I see you have returned, Kirito." Kirito glared, and the man continued. "If you must know, I am King Oberon, the God of ALfheim Online."

 _ALfheim Online... Wait, am I in another game!_ Kirito growled lowly "Why am I not in the real world? What do you want with me?! _And where is Asuna?!_ "

Oberon didn't answer, only muttered to himself: "Such spirit. You will be a joy to break, Black Swordsmen."

After a moments pause, he continued. "You need not worry, your precious Asuna woke up from SAO exactly a month ago, as well as all of your friends." Kirito breathed a sigh of relief. Asuna, Klien, all of them were safe. That is, if this Oberon was to be trusted.

"Unfortunately, their peace will not last. See, I am chief of the research institute of RECT inc., making me a _very_ important person. Important enough, in fact, to catch the attention of Shouzou Yuuki.

"We happen to get along very well, and he decided I was worthy of being gifted the hand of his only daughter in marriage, Asuna Yuuki."

Kirito's eyes widened. "No... Asuna- Asuna would never marry you, you bastard!"

Oberon's grin was predatory. "Of course she won't. Not willingly, of course. So that's why Asuna's father has... _neglected_ to mention the fact that she's engaged to me. We will be married in four months time. Maybe I'll live stream the footage to you so you can watch as she walks down the aisle, clothed in white, and takes my hand in marriage. You can watch as she _kisses_ me, making herself mine _forever!_ "

Kirito was horrified. "No... She'll refuse, she loves me! The only person she'll _ever_ be married to is _me!_ "

"But..." Oberon started in a smooth drawl, "What if you aren't there for her to love? What if you were to be taken out of the picture... altogether? Then what?

"You know, you are still hooked up to your NerveGear. The very same NerveGear that could fry your brain in an instant. And since you never officially logged out of Sword Art Online, I'd say that feature is still intact, no?"

Kirito did his best to mask his growing terror. "So, what? Your going to kill me, then? Fry my brain? It won't do anything. Asuna will grieve for me, she'll fall into depression, she may even commit suicide." Kirito swallowed dryly. "You won't gain anything."

Oberon laughed. "Of course I'm not going to kill you, what would be the fun in that! No, what I'm going to do is much worse.

"I have been developing a new type of technology, you see, and have been testing its prototype on the 299 other SAO survivors trapped in here during the past month. The results were quiet positive. So positive in fact that it should be ready for usage on _you_ in only a few days time.

"What it does, as you will see, is gives me control over human emotion and memories. It gives me control over your perspective, your personality, your _soul!_ I will be a God, and once I turn your own brain against yourself, I will be _your_ God! _And there's nothing you can do to stop me!_ " Oberon laughed wildly, and exited the cage with a swish of his cloak.

Kirito collapsed onto the cold stone floor, head in his hands.

What was Oberon going to do to him?


	2. Chapter 2

**So the writing style for this chapter is kinda strange. It starts off in my normal style, which is generally 3rd person POV, but midway into the chapter it switches to a 1st person type style. The section of the chapter that is 1st person POV is italicized, and is written as if you are reading a dairy or journal of sorts. I wrote it this way to show the transition from 'Kirito' to 'Kage' more clearly without having to painstakingly write the details of every single day Kirito spends trapped.**

 **Long story short, forgive the weird POV change at the beginning and end of the chapter, and sorry if it's confusing.**

 **-Elysia Grace**

 _•••••_

Kirito wasn't see how long he had been sitting here. There was nothing to help him track the passing of time. No guards with rotation schedules, no food to be brought. Nothing.

Kirito supposed that the guards made since, why would Kirito need them if there was no way for him escape anyways? The only exit was a door with a keypad to unlock it. But Kirito hadn't even seen Oberon use it, and there was no way he'd be able to guess the code without triggering something, and if he did he knew it wouldn't end well.

The food, though, confused him. Even though it was a game, he should still feel hunger, right? Even if it was only an allusion, just like in SAO. _Although,_ he thought, _if Oberon can control people's brains, who's to say he can't control their stomachs as well?_

In the end, Kirito decided, time was irrelevant here, and a nuisance to keep track of. Kirito had given up after the first 24 hours.

Oberon hadn't been back to visit him yet, and in a way Kirito almost wanted him too. The silence here was deafening. And with nothing to do but wait, Kirito was almost to the point of talking to himself, just so that there was something to fill the silence. Even if it was his own voice.

But no, Kirito wouldn't succumb to the insanity of isolation, not yet. He would fight it as long as he could. But it was warring down on him, slowly but surely.

Suddenly there was a chime, and the golden door of the cage swung open. Kirito almost charged at Oberon to attack him, maybe even to make a dive for the exit, but before he could the door closed and Oberon was smiling that demented smile of his.

"Testing has finished, Kage." Kirito noted that Oberon called him by the name he had used when Kirito first woke up. The one that meant shadow. "Time for some _fun._ "

And with that sentence, any happiness Kirito had that something was _finally_ happening disappeared in an instant.

Oberon lifted his hands up and closed his eyes. Kirito watched with some amount of amazement as rings of words in a strange language began to circle around the man. Kirito couldn't make any sense of it. But as Oberon spoke some of the words circling Oberon lit up and froze in front of him, seemingly activated. When Oberon finished Kirito felt a burning sizzle at his wrist and looked down to find golden cuffs circling them, chaining Kirito to the back of the cage. On the cuffs were a set of words engraved into them in the same language as the words that had been around Oberon before. Kirito growled at Oberon, who was wearing a smug smile on his face.

"Don't bother trying to struggle, if you do the spell on the cuffs will activate and you will be shocked with a force equivalent to a lightning strike." Of course, Kirito didn't listen and immediately began to pull on the chains with all of his strength.

True to his word, Kirito felt what must have been electricity sizzle from the gold around his wrists to all throughout his body. The pain was unbearable, and Kirito let loose a tortured scream. If he had been able to look down, he would have seen the words engraved on the cuffs glowing brightly.

As Kirito drew in deep breaths and slowly recovered, Oberon was watching him with excitement. "I was hoping you would do that! And it seemed it worked, too! You felt the pain! Just like it was real!"

"How..." Kirito coughed. "How did I feel it? This is game, I shouldn't be able to feel any pain..."

"Simple! I just turned down your pain absorption to level 4. Any lower and it would affect your body in real life, and we can't have that!" Oberon replied almost joyfully.

Kirito remained silent, anticipating Oberon's next move.

"Now that that's out of the way, it's time to start." Oberon's grin was far too wide and showed far too many teeth to be sane. Swiping his fingers up, a panel appeared in front of him. Oberon pressed something, and Kirito stumbled back.

A memory was taking over his vision, paying like a movie but so real that it felt like Kirito was experiencing it all over again.

It was the memory of the first time Kirito met Asuna, at the boss meeting. It was just like how Kirito remembered it, and he wondered what was the point of this.

Suddenly it all changed. Instead of accepting his party invitation, Asuna viciously declined it, laughed in his face, and went off to join another group. Kirito felt an unnatural stab of hatred towards her.

 _Wait, no, this isn't right! I love Asuna, I don't hate her! She accepted my invitation, and we defeated the boss together! She didn't-_

The memory ended, and suddenly Kirito couldn't remember what he was thinking about before.

Oberon spoke, hand falling from the panel he had been manipulating. "Tell me, Kirito, what happened the first time you me Asuna?"

Kirito felt that unnatural stab of hatred again. When he looked at Oberon, he saw that his attention was focused on the panel, fingers sliding across it.

"I tried to be nice and offer her help. But she rejected me and laughed in my face, before going off to join someone else." Almost immediately Kirito slapped his hands over his mouth. That can't be right! Asuna would never do that!

But Kirito couldn't remember it happening any other way. He knew that this must have been Oberon's fault, that he had just manipulated Kirito's memories, but that didn't change the fact that this was what Kirito remembered. He couldn't just deny what his brain was telling him, even if he knew it was wrong. Oh no, this was bad, this was _really_ bad-!

"And what happened after that?" Oberon's fingers were flying over the panel faster than before. Kirito saw another memory flash across his vision once again.

Anger stole through him. "I went to apologize to her, and offered her some cream for her bread and a place to stay for the night. She rejected all of it immediately, and hit the cream out of my hand before walking away without any explanation!" Kirito knew this was wrong, all of this was wrong. But how was he supposed to fight against his own brain? How was he supposed to know what's right when the only thing he could remember was what's wrong?

"Wonderful! That should be all for now, I'll see you tomorrow... Kage." Oberon called him by that strange name again before teleporting out of the cage, this time ignoring the door and its coded panel.

Kirito felt cold. And confused. That was too easy, _way too easy_ for Oberon to manipulate him into believing his lies. Kirito was lucky that Oberon had announced which memories he had changed that time, but in the future? What if Oberon didn't tell him when he was messing with Kirito's head? How was he supposed to know which memories were true and which were false?

 _No, I'll know. The ones where Asuna loves me are-_ But Kirito had to cut himself off. As soon as he had thought Asuna's name he had felt that unnatural hatred and anger bubble up in him all over again.

 _No! No! This can't be happening! This is wrong! I love Asu-_

But the emotions were getting too him, and Kirito knew that if he kept this up they would only get worse.

 _Fine, I won't use her name then. If that's what it takes._

•••••

Kirito pulled up his menu, and looked for the log out button. It wasn't there, as usual. But Kirito couldn't help but check, if only just to make sure.

Sighing dejectedly, Kirito laid on the floor of his prison. He just thought, as really that was the only thing he could do.

 _Oberon was back again today. He turned more memories against me, more than the day before. They were mostly about_ her, _but some had Klien too._

 _I used to remember Klien as an easy-going, fun, laid-back man, but now all I can think about is how he used me for his own gain on that first day, and then ditched me when I needed him most. Oberon didn't question me about my memories, so I'm not sure how much of that is true. That scares me more than I'd like to admit._

 _I've started feeling fear when I think of_ her, _too. I don't know what to think of that, which is strange considering all the thinking I have been doing lately. But I have to wonder, what's the point of thinking when your own head has betrayed you? It will likely only make things worse._

 _Oberon is still calling me Kage. I don't know why, but when I demanded he call me Kirito instead the chains shocked me with a pain worse than the last. It seems that they will shock me for disobedience as well as struggling._

 _My brain is telling me to just give up, but my heart is telling me to keep fighting. And since I can't trust my brain anymore, I'll have to go with my heart. For as long as I can, anyway._

 _•••••_

 _It's been another couple days._

 _Sometimes I wonder about the real world. Have my friends woken up, like Oberon said? Have the found each other? Have they found_ me? _Do they even care that I'm still asleep, while they are awake?_

 _Some time ago I would have said that_ yes, of course they cared, _but now I can't be so sure. Which memories are right, and which are wrong? The truths and lies are starting to blur together, to the point that it's hard to tell the difference. I can't be sure of anything anymore..._

 _..And that's what hurts the most_

 _•••••_

 _It's been a week since Oberon first started messing with my mind..._

 _Or, at least, I think it has been._

 _I've found that the best (and maybe the only) way to mark time is by Oberon's visits. They used to happen only once a day, but now it's rare to see him any less than three. I can't help but wonder why he's stepped up the frequency, but the only conclusion I can come too is that he's rushing. Like he's on a time limit. But what for? It can't be for the wedding, it's still months away and there wouldn't be a need to rush yet._

 _But if not for the wedding, then for what? What is he planning?_

 _•••••_

 _I've lost track of the time._

 _I tried to fight it. I tried as hard as I could. But it's beginning to be too much, and Oberon finally crossed the line. He touched the memories of my family. He touched my memories of Sugu._

 _I still remember the happy times we had together, but it's soiled by memories of rejection and disgust after she found out that we weren't brother and sister. I remember her going out of her way to avoid me, pushing me as far away as she could. When I think of Suguha, I can only feel hurt and anger._

 _Always anger. I can't seem to remember a time when I wasn't mad about something. I try to convince myself that it's only Oberon controlling my emotions, but I know deep down that some of its my own._

 _It hurts, because I know this is exactly what he wanted to happen. For him to stop having to force this anger and hatred onto me, but for it to become genuine, an automatic reaction to thoughts of friends and family. I tried fighting it, but it's hopeless. I hate to admit it, but I'm not sure I'll be able to fight much longer._

 _•••••_

 _Today was different. Instead of altering my memories, Oberon just replayed them for me to see. I'm not sure if he's ran out of memories to alter, or if this is merely another stage in his plot. Maybe it's both._

 _He chose memory after altered memory and replayed it over and over, forcing all of these awful emotions onto me. And, worst of all,_ _I suppose that Oberon must have realized that the chains on my hands weren't being put to use as they used to be. So each time I watched a memory, the cuffs sent bolts of lightning through me._

 _Every time felt worse than before. It wouldn't stop. Every time I thought Oberon was finally done another memory took over my field of vision, and the torture started again. It was an endless cycle._

 _When he stopped, my throat was raw and my eyes were red and puffy. I felt dead._

 _After Oberon left, I tried to think about_ her. _I think we used to love each other. But I don't understand how that's possible, because the only thing I can remember when I think of_ her _is anger and hatred, and the pain of lightning ghosting over my skin._

 _•••••_

 _I can't seem to remember my name. I used to think it was Kirito, or maybe Kazuto, but now I can't be sure. King Oberon calls me Kage. It means shadow, and I think that's rather fitting._

 _It's so hard to think. Too hard. I said I would fight it, but I'm not sure what I'm fighting against. Is it myself? King Oberon? Or maybe even_ her? _I think it makes the most sense that I'm fighting against_ her, _just like it makes the most sense that my name is Kage._ She's _the one who makes me feel all this anger and hatred and pain, so it must be_ her _that I'm fighting against._

 _I asked The King about it, but the only thing he did was smile, and tell me to trust my head._

 _My heart tells me not to, but I ignore it. My head is so much easier to trust. The only thing my heart is giving me is confusion and lost memories, but my head is giving me answers._

 _I've made up my mind._

 _My name is Kage, and_ Asuna _trapped me in here._

 _•••••_

 _The King didn't torture me again today. He said that I'm ready. For what, I'm not sure, but the prospect of getting out of this isolation makes me smile._

 _Even if that smile is a little too wide and shows a few too many teeth to be sane._

•••••

Oberon unchained Kage, and the freedom to stand and move as he pleased made him grin.

He gave Kage an outfit of black, and when Kage looked in a mirror Oberon brought him too, He gasped. He... had wings. How had he not known that?

Kage couldn't feel them like he could his arms or legs, and he hadn't seen himself since he arrived in Alfheim, so maybe that was why. But still, Kage would have thought that he would have found out about them somehow.

They were great big feathered wings, like an angel's. But instead of being made of pure white, they were a deep ebony black. Kage turned to Oberon, and took in the differences between them.

"Why are your wings different than mine?"

Oberon paused before responding. "You are of a different race. I am the Fairy King, and do not belong to a race in particular. You, on the other hand, are an Alf. A dark Alf, at that." Kage frowned. Races? Alf? That didn't make any sense. But before he could speak up, Oberon continued.

"In Alfheim online, there are nine starting races: Cait Sith, Gnome, Imp, Leprechaun, Pooka, Salamander, Spriggan, Sylph, and Undine. These races are only allowed a limited amount of flight at a time. It is said that the first race to make it to the top of the World Tree and gain an audience with me would be blessed with unlimited flight and would become Alfs simular to yourself.

"At first, I had planned for this to be only a legend, not something that was actually obtainable nor possible. But when I first captured you, you gave me an idea. Why not make use of what I have done, and show you to the world as the final boss of Alfhiem online?

"If a player makes it to the top of the world tree, they will immediately be transported to your boss room, and from there they will have to kill you, a dark Alf, if they wish to become Alfs themselves. Of course, I figured that you would be reluctant to kill players after SAO despite all that pent up rage that I know has been building in you. So there is a catch. I know I mentioned before that because you are still using the NerveGear, and were never officially released from Sword Art Online, that the death feature should still be accessible. After some digging, I found that I was right.

"In other words, Kage, if you die in that boss room, if you let a player get that final hit and kill you, you will die in both Alfhiem and in real life."

Kage was shocked. And angry. He thought he was done with this death game bullshit! And now he was told that he was being put on the spot again, with even more odds against his favor?! Kirito didn't doubt that he could take down a single player, but an entire party of players set on killing him to beat the game?! How was Kage supposed to survive that?!

"Of course, you will be given a few advantages over the other players, to help you defeat them. I can't have you dying as soon as the first raid group arrives, can I?" Oberon chuckled. Kage glared.

"And the best part of all of this? I am sure that Asuna-" Kage hissed at the name, "-will be _very_ interested in finding out why you are being presented as a mob to kill. In another VRMMORPG, at that! But once she seeks you out and finds you in that boss room, she will see that you, her beloved husband, have been turned against her! You will release that hatred you have onto her and you will kill her, even if its just to save your own skin! She will stop loving you! And who will be there to comfort her in her time of need? _Me!_ It's the perfect plan!" A pounding pain in the back of his head distracted Kage midway through Oberon's rant. What did Oberon mean by _'beloved husband'?_

Kage turned his attention back to the matters at hand. Whatever Oberon meant by that was irrelevant.

"So I wish you luck," Oberon's grin was feral, and a blue light began to take over his field of vision. " _Kage, the Shadow Prince._ "


	3. Chapter 3

**AGHHH!**

 **IM SO SORRY!**

 **This chapter was supposed to be posted AGES ago!**

 **So I used to have this really long author's note here rambling about my problems and excuses, but after a couple days I realized how stupid it was and took it down.**

 **Because really, that's no excuse. Despite any problems I may have had in my personal life, I still had time, and I should have spent that time writing fanfiction rather than reading it, so once again I'm sorry.**

 **Anyways, enough of my ranting, please continue on and read this long overdue chapter (hope you like it).**

 **-Elysia Grace**

•••••

When King Oberon had first led Kage away from his golden cage, Kage was ecstatic. No more isolation. No more memories. No more pain.

Clearly, he was wrong. Because really, this is not what he'd asked for.

After the blue light had disappeared, Kage decided that King Oberon must have teleported him. Looking around, he found that he was in what looked like a throne room.

The room was cylindrical, with a high, dramatic ceiling that formed a hemisphere, and arches that ran along it, connected to the walls, so that they converged in the center. Kage expected to find a chandelier of sorts hanging from the center of the ceiling where the arches converged, but the only thing he could make out was a thin, dark black spike. The spike was very clearly carved, as it thinned in some places and jutted out in others in a way that was so perfectly symmetrical that it couldn't have been natural.

On one side of the room was a pair of arched doors that seemed to tower over him. The were ridiculously big, at least a couple stories high, and reached up to the point of the ceiling where it started curving. Carved into the doors were intricate patterns that Kage couldn't make any sense of.

Directly opposite the doors was a throne. The throne seemed to be carved of stone, and was led up to by a set of dark stairs. The throne itself was large, large enough that Kage could just barely use both armrest at the same time. And the back of it was high enough that it must have nearly matched the height of the doors. But, strangely enough, it was still low enough to the ground that Kage could easily sit on it.

Everything seemed to be made of some sort of black or dark gray stone. The only source of light was the torches that were placed in between the arches that led to the ceiling, providing just enough light to see by while still casting the entire room into shadows.

It was dark. Dramatic. Foreboding.

And, apparently, his new home. His own boss room.

In another time, Kage may have investigated. Scour the room in every way possible to try and find a way of escape.

But he was so tired.

Despite him being in a game, he still felt the effects of fatigue. And being chained up all day really didn't help you sleep at night.

Not to mention the nightmares.

But really, all Kage wanted right now was a moments peace. His head was still pounding from the overload of information, and he really didn't want to spare the effort to make sense of it all. Not now.

So he climbed the stairs to his throne, legs feeling heavier than they should, and collapsed onto it. The stone felt cool on his back, and was strangely comfortable despite it being hard and rough.

Not bothering to wonder why he did it, Kage reached out with his hand and flourished it in a strange motion, before closing his eyes and falling into the grasps of sleep.

Maybe if he had bothered to keep his eyes open a moment longer, he would have been able to watch as the shadows in the room seemed to leap off the walls and wrap around the torch flames, suffocating the light until the room was doused in darkness.

•••••

Asuna sat very still as Suguha braided her hair, twisting and pulling at it until it perfectly resembled her hair style from SAO, just as she had wanted it to.

"And... Done. How does it look? Did I do it right?" Suguha looked nervous.

Asuna couldn't respond. All she could do was stare into the mirror.

Asuna hadn't styled her hair this way since she had woken up. That was two months ago. Which meant it was one month ago that she had first visited Kirito in the hospital. And he still hadn't woken up. But he wasn't dead, either. Unlike the rest of them.

Two hours ago, all but one of the 300 players who still hadn't woken from SAO died. The NerveGear fried their brains, and they didn't breath another breath.

All but Kirito.

There was no explanation for it, it just happened. Some people thought that their NerveGear must have been faulty, and that they had already died in the game a long time ago, and the NerveGear was only just now receiving the signal to kill them. Others thought that they had still been trapped in the game, and that something must have wiped all of them out.

Asuna had a different theory. She didn't think this was the work of the NerveGear, Cardinal, or even Kayaba. There was something else going on here. Another player in the game, so to speak.

Asuna thought that this other person was responsible for keeping the players from logging out. What he or she wanted with them, Asuna wasn't sure, but it couldn't have been anything good for the person to decide to kill all of them but Kirito.

Maybe this person had a god complex like Kayaba, and wanted his own world to manipulate. But that wouldn't explain why the person only trapped three hundred of the surviving players rather than all of them. Or maybe the person was using them for experiments or testing, but that wouldn't explain why Kirito was still alive while the rest weren't. Had he been the only one to survive the experimentation? Or maybe he had been separated from the rest, used for something completely different?

Or maybe Asuna was completely wrong, and it really was just a fluke.

"Hey! Asuna! Snap out of it!"

Asuna blinked, only to find that she was still staring into the mirror, and that there were tears running rivers down her face. She brought a hand up, touching her cheek and feeling the wetness on it.

She took a deep breath. "I, I'm fine. Just zoned out, is all!" She attempted to smile, but she knew Suguha wasn't buying it.

Looking into the mirror, Asuna moved her hand to the back of her head, feeling the smooth braids connecting into the ruffled ponytail.

She knew this was something she had to do. A step in making a recovery, going back to normal. If she couldn't do something as simple as braiding her hair without breaking down, then how was she supposed to do anything else?

But, all those people... Two hundred and ninety-nine more dead... And Kirito...

It was too much. Too many memories were assaulting her. She shouldn't have done this, shouldn't have tried to be brave enough to face her past. If she had Kirito, then maybe they could have done it together, but he... He could die any second...

Asuna felt the tears come down harder, and short gasp came from her throat. _Kirito... Kirito... Why aren't you here with me? Why am I having to do this without you?_

Suguha seemed to sense what was happening, and immediately turned Asuna to face her and pulled her into a hug.

"Shh... Shh... It's okay, Asuna, we'll get him back. He's not going to die, not like the rest of them, you'll see..."

Asuna pulled her head back from Suguha's chest. "But- but how do you know that? How? He could die any second! One message from the game, and the NerveGear will-" Asuna stopped herself. She couldn't say it. Wouldn't say it.

"Hey, if there's one thing I know from what you've told me about SAO, it's that Kazuto's a fighter. He won't go down that easily, I know it. He loves you! And he will fight till his last breath to see you again."

Asuna hiccuped, and tried to calm her self down. "Your right... I know you are... But what can I do? How am I supposed to get over this? SAO has wounded me, and Kirito isn't here to help me heal."

"But we are. Me, and all of our friends. _We_ will help you, Asuna. You don't have to go through this alone. Rika, Keiko, all of them are going through the same thing. We can heal _together,_ Asuna, and when we get Kazuto back, we can help him heal too."

Asuna sat there for a moment, sniffled one last time, and wiped away the last of her tears. She could do this. She wouldn't let SAO get the best of her.

"Okay."

•••••

Kage was sitting on the ceiling. For several days he had tried sitting on his throne, and then on the floor, but when gravity got boring he decided that he would use his supposedly 'unlimited' flight and just sit on the ceiling instead.

He was holding his arms out, looking at his perfect hands, with perfect nails and perfect fingers. There was not a single flaw on them, and he figured that the game's programming wasn't capable of designing them any other way. What's a pair of hands, in a world of magic and flight?

Kage held his right hand out in front of him, palm facing up (or down, depending on how you looked at it) and snapped two of his fingers together. A dark black flame came to life, hovering just above his hand. Flickers of violet and indigo danced inside of it, giving the fire an otherworldly feel. It didn't hurt him, it didn't even feel warm. If anything, the flame felt cold as ice.

He reeled his arm back, and then propelled it forward as if he were throwing something. The flame followed the movement, launching itself in the direction his arm moved, and crashed into the stone grey wall with a thunderous explosion. When the smoke cleared, Kage could just make out the "Immortal Object" tag hovering in front of it. It blinked away with a flash of purple light.

Kage sighed. That wasn't the first time he had tried that. But every time the wall looked the same as before, with nothing but a pixelated label telling him that he had ever done anything in the first place. The walls of his prison were indestructible.

Slowly he drifted down from the ceiling, turning himself up right in the process. This... magic that Kage seemed to posses was something he had been experimenting with the past few days. It helped chase away the silence.

Silence that, at the moment, was being disturbed.

The stone doors, the ones that led into his room, were opening.

 _They were opening._

At first, Kage was completely bewildered. What was opening the doors? And how could it open them when he could not?

And then he remembered that, oh yes, this was a boss room.

And he was the boss.

Kage sank from his position in the air into the throne below him, and then further more until he hidden in the shadows. Well this was an interesting turn of events. Someone had made it into his boss room. And they were here to kill him.

Cute.

Kage sat in the perfect center of the throne, arms on the too-far-apart armrest and leaning against the too-big stone backing. His head was tilted downwards, just enough so that the shadows covered his face.

The door opened further, and light spilled into the room. Kage smirked.

Oh, this was going to be _fun._

•••••

 **As you may have noticed, Suguha doesn't seem to be in love with Kirito in this chapter. That's because she isn't. My logic is that because Kirito never woke up from SAO and spent all that time with Sugu, Sugu never developed the crush she has on him. Let's keep in mind that that was all a post-game development as far as I remember, and as of now Suguha misses him and loves him, but she isn't _in_ love with him. Because of that, she also has no problem with Asuna and Kirito being married. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Yes, I know, this was supposed to be uploaded yesterday. But I felt that I was rushing the ending trying to get it posted on time, so I decided I would rather make you guys wait another day than give you a crappy ending to such an important chapter (yes, it's the boss fight). So I basically rewrote the entire ending of this during BPE, and I think it's a lot better now. I really like it, at least.**

 **On a side note, have I mentioned that I'm in marching band? Well I'm in marching band, and as anybody in marching band knows, you basically sell your soul (and freedom) to it as soon as you sign up. Just putting that out there.**

 **Lots of love!**

 **-Elysia Grace**

•••••

Tsuro was ecstatic. He had done it! He and his guild had made it to the final boss of the game! They could really do it, they could really be gifted with unlimited flight!

It wasn't easy to get up here, oh no. Definitely not. In fact, Tsuro was pretty sure that he would be dead already if it wasn't for Iya and Kenko, the two Undine revivers in his guild that were able to revive any of their fallen members before their Remain Lights disappeared. And of course, his warriors and mages as well. And his tanks. And his archers. Really, he couldn't have done it without any of them.

Tsuro turned to face his guild. They were a rather mismatched group, consisting of three different races: Undines, Salamanders, and Cait Siths. Support, melee, and ranged. One race to get to the top first, and two allies to be blessed as well. Everything was perfectly planned.

They were ready. They could do this. Tsuro knew it. "Look at us, my friends. Not long ago we were a pathetic group of gamers who didn't even know how to fly, and now we are preparing ourselves to beat the game! I thank all of you for standing by me and the rest of the guild, for without you we would not be here right now! We are smarter, stronger, better than every other player in this game! We will fight, and we will be victorious!" A loud cheer ran through the group.

"Now!" Tsuro turned back to face the doors. "It is time to defeat the final boss!" And with a deep breath, he pressed a hand against the cool stone of the door, and pushed it open.

•••••

Asuna looked at her phone. It was laying on her bed, across the room from where she was seated in front of her computer. The screen had just lit up, and from what she could see it looked like she had received an email. She couldn't make out who it was from, though.

Closing out her partially-complete homework, Asuna opened a window and logged onto her email. When the page showed up, she frowned. The email at the very top of the page, the most recent one, was listed only under "Unknown". There was no subject. _Okay, strange..._

Ignoring her skyrocketing paranoia, Asuna opened the email with shaking hands.

•••••

Light flooded into the shadowed room. And with a careful caution, Tsuro and the 23 other members of his guild crept into the giant, circular chamber. Torches flickered from the side, making shadows dance along the wall. A giant throne sat at the far end.

Tsuro looked around, trying to find where the boss was. Floor? Empty. Ceiling? Blank. Walls? Clear.

 _So... Where is it?_

Beside him his strongest archer, Yaji, gasped, ears and tail stiffening in distress.

Yaji was staring at the throne, where there now was a boy, a boy that he obviously hadn't seen before. It was startling small, and was far to little for its giant throne, but instead of making it seem weak and comical, the throne made the boy seem evil, terrifying. Light flickered off its black hair and wings. A black sword was strapped to its back.

Briefly, Tsuro wondered if this was a trap. Maybe there was some sort of task to complete before they could enter the actual boss room.

The boy rose, and Tsuro watched it carefully, waiting for its programming to kick in, for it to say something, give them a clue.

Tsuro looked to Yaji at his left, who was un-drawing his arrow, and to Kenko at his right, who was lowering her hands. Iya was lowering her's as well, and the rest of his guild followed suit. Yaji's ear twitched.

But Tsuro kept his sword drawn. Something didn't feel right. Why was that NPC still silent?

One of Tsuro's mages, a Salamander by the name of Maho, walked forward. Tsuro watched him with a frown.

"Maho!" He hissed, "What are you doing! I haven't given an you an order! Fall back immediately!"

Maho glanced back at Tsuro with a lopsided smirk. He flicked a red lock of hair from his eyes. "Relax, boss. I just want to see what the NPC wants."

Tsuro scowled, and took a step forward. "Maho, you will come back this exact second! We are a team! We will approach it together!" But Maho just laughed.

"Oh come on, Tsuro, what do you thinks going to happen? I want to get to the boss room as fast as you do, and clearly nobody else is doing anything." He turned back to the boy, who hadn't moved an inch.

"Hey!" He yelled, trying to get its attention. "Hello! Do you need any help! We are here to assist you! Let us pass!" The boy didn't react. Maho growled.

"Hey, what do you wa-!"

The boy moved, faster that what should have been possible, and all Tsuro saw was the point of a sword and the scarlet glow of a Remain Light where Maho should have stood. Fragments of light dispersed into the air.

Tsuro stumbled back. Beside him, Iya had her hands raised and was frantically chanting the revival spell as fast as possible.

The boy, the man, the boss rose, sword as dark as midnight in his hands and black eyes flashing dangerously, wicked smile on his face and feathered wings spread wide.

"How..." Tsuro was frozen. This was the boss? It looked like a player, same as them! A giant towering monster he could handle, but this? And those attack patterns! He had never seen anything like that before, charging with such perfect timing! And a one hit kill! How were they supposed to fight this?!

The boss raised his sword, and charged again, and Tsuro barely had enough time to react.

•••••

A- a picture. A picture of Kazuto. That's what the email was.

He clearly hadn't realized the picture was being taken, because his attention was focused elsewhere. He was lounging on some sort of oversized throne, with a flicker of dark purple flame dancing above his fingertips. He was dressed in black, but it was a different outfit from his one in SAO. The background looked like some sort of dark stone.

But- but he looked fine! _Fine!_ He looked perfectly normal! And he was _alive!_ All she had to do was find out where he was and then go and save him!

Everything would be okay!

•••••

Tsuro grabbed Iya and ducked out of the way, right as the bosses sword cut through where she was just standing. A blue lock of hair fell to the ground and broke into fragments. The sword hit the wall with a deafening clang!

Tsuro shook his head. _Come on Tsuro, get it together! You have a guild to protect and a boss to defeat! Focus!_

Tsuro yelled to his guild as they all scattered away from the boss. "Alright! Tanks! Capture its agro and set up a front immediately! Switch out when health reaches yellow! Mages and archers stay close to the walls and ceiling! Keep out of its reach and launch attacks when warriors are out of range! Warriors stay behind Tanks and prepare to attack on my command! We can do this!" Tsuro turned to the shaken girl beside him. "And Iya, your coming with me. We're going to get Maho back." She looked at him with blue, determined eyes.

Immediately Tsuro's guild broke up, Tanks worked their way to surround the boss, who was currently near the wall it had charges and was strangely still. Salamander Mages and Cait Sith Archers flew to the ceiling to stay as far from the it as possible. Undine Healers hovered around, waiting for their assistance to be needed. Salamander Warriors surrounded the Tanks.

Tsuro smiled. It was working. They could do thi-

And then an icy laugh chilled him to the bone.

Tsuro immediately whirled from facing Maho's Remain Light to stare at the boss, only to find that it seemed to have disappeared. Another laugh sounded, and it seemed to echo from every surface of the room. Tsuro backed away from the Remain Light towards the wall closest to him, and pulled Iya with him. _Where is it?_

Suddenly, and without a sound of warning, Iya screamed. It was shrill and piercing and in everyway pained Tsuro to hear, and then it was cut off as Iya burst into shards.

Tsuro yelped and scrambled back from the wall, falling backwards onto his hands and knees, red armor clanging and brown hair falling in his eyes. He could only watch as the boss _melted_ from the shadows until he stood in front of Tsuro, lips pulled back into a feral grin that was all-too-wide to be sane. His sword hung from one hand, and a dark flame pulsed in the other.

 _It knew. It knew! It knew Iya was a reviver, and it killed her so she wouldn't bring back Maho! How was that possible?! What kind of program was this?!_

The boss raised its sword, black tip gleaming wickedly, and prepared to swing it down. Tsuro lifted his hands to sheild himself, even though it would do nothing. _This is it. This is the end. All of that hard work for nothing..._

 _Thanks God it's just a game..._

An arrow flew by Tsuro's ear, and caught the boss in the shoulder. Whipping his head around, Tsuro turned to find Yaji in the air, bow drawn and another arrow prepared to launch.

The boss howled, a horrific sound that sounded like actual pain. Like the arrow had actually injured the boss.

 _And the audio too... this boss... it's unlike anything I have ever seen before..._

 _What the hell am I fighting?!_

Looking back at the boss, Tsuro barely managed to launch himself into the air before the sword came crashing down where he once lay.

 _Too close... too close... I'm such an idiot, forgetting I had wings..._

He flew as far away as possible. The boss stood and yanked the arrow from its shoulder, growling low and deep in its throat and a boiling hatred growing in its eyes. No more playing with its prey.

Tsuro tried to yell to his guild in what broken speech he could muster. "-Intelligent! Knew- Iya- reviving!"

The boss turned its steel gray irises to Tsuro, eyes narrowed to slits and obviously not liking what it was hearing. In a flash of light, the fireball that was in its hand launched itself and exploded right over his head, causing thick black smoke to curl around the room.

Kenko screamed shrilly, and a blue Remain Light lit up the smoke. On the other side, Maho's flickered and went out.

 _No... she was our only other reviver..._

 _There's no second chances now..._

Clearly the rest of the guild understood this too, and everything descended into chaos.

Fire, red and black, was shooting across the room at lightning fast speeds, hitting stone and flesh and only adding to the blinding smoke. Screams became a cacophony of sound, cries of pain and anguish as guild members fell one by one. Yaji, dead. Yoroi, dead. Shisu, dead.

Tsuro wanted to scream, to yell, to tell his guild members that _damnit! Keep your heads! We haven't lost this yet!_

God, he wished that was true.

The boss was a whirlwind. Spinning and weaving throughout the ranks of players, not seeming to touch anything yet leaving a rainbow of Remain Lights in its wake.

There was no pattern, no rhythm to distinguish. No way to plan attacks and counterattacks. How could this mob, this creation of ones and zeros, be so life like? There was no way they could have prepared for this.

Tsuro searched frantically for both the boss and any remaining members of his guild, sword pointed away from his body in defense. He found neither.

Suddenly the smoke flushed out of the room, leaving only thick traces lingering around the walls. And there, in the center, was the boss. It's hair was sticking to its head with sweat but it's smile was gleeful.

 _Maybe... maybe not an it... maybe..._

The boss approached. Crunched metal was dangling from its hand, and in the other was his sword, still bathed in the deep purple glow of black flame. The armor of his fallen comrades.

 _Maybe a_ he...

The boss, the boy, the _player_ marched up to Tsuro, deranged grin on his face and flashing eyes. He put his sword to Tsuro's throat.

A deep gash, and Tsuro saw no more.

•••••

But the message underneath gave Asuna pause.

 _Come get him, Princess. I'll be waiting._

 _-King Oberon of ALfheim Online._

Asuna looked back at the photo, but it was flickering. Flickering from black, to the original, to a completely different photo. And when it froze Asuna screamed.

She wasn't looking at Kirito laying on a throne anymore. All she could see was Kirito's face covering the frame. It looked like he was holding the camera in his hands. Black smoke was blurring the edges.

But it was his expression... there was such a sadistic gleefulness in his eyes and smile that it made her want to cry. He was grinning wildly and his eyes were dangerous. His hair was mussed and tossled and sticking to his forehead.

 _This... that_ thing _isn't Kirito! That is the face of a madman!_

The screen of her computer flickered, and went black.


End file.
